18 U.S. Code § 2153 - Destruction of war material, war premises, or war utilities

(a)Whoever, when the United States is at war, or in times of national emergency as declared by the President or by the Congress, with intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct the United States or any associate nation in preparing for or carrying on the war or defense activities, or, with reason to believe that his act may injure, interfere with, or obstruct the United States or any associate nation in preparing for or carrying on the war or defense activities, willfully injures, destroys, contaminates or infects, or attempts to so injure, destroy, contaminate or infect any war material, war premises, or war utilities, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than thirty years, or both.

(b)If two or more persons conspire to violate this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be punished as provided in subsection (a) of this section.

Based on section
102 of title
50, U.S.C., 1940 ed., War and National Defense (Apr. 20, 1918, ch. 59, § 2,40 Stat. 534).

“As herein defined” was deleted as surplusage.

The conspiracy provisions are new. Their addition to the section was strongly urged by the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, considering the gravity of the substantive offense as evidenced by the prescribed punishment therefor. The punishment provisions of the general conspiracy statute, section
371 of this title, are inadequate.

Words “upon conviction thereof” were omitted as unnecessary since punishment cannot be imposed until a conviction is secured.

Minor changes were made in phraseology.

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000”.

1954—Act Sept. 3, 1954, made section applicable in time of national emergency as well as war, and recognized the possibility of bacteriological warfare by making “contamination” a crime.